Look what I caught mum..........

It's been a miserable day today - cold and wet, wet, wet - so much so that it's felt like a real return to winter. But I know it's been much worse in other parts of the country so we'll just ride with it. Canterbury had the earthquake now Southland has a wintry snow storm to contend with. All those poor wee New Zealand lambs hardly stand a chance :(

Went along to the duck pond again after work to see how the spring chicks are coming along. For the first time today since 7.00am the sun came out which made for a very pleasant inerlude. I managed to spot the 2 wee pukeko chicks but mum and dad are keeping them mostly tucked away in the grasses so the handful of shots I took weren't so crash hot.

I did however, manage to capture 2 shots of a swallow (or is it a swift?!?) swooping around the pond which I was pretty pleased with given the speed and agility these guys move with!

But my pick today wins out purely on cute factor! As I was leaving the pond (in cold rain!) I spotted this chap, his mum and 10 of his siblings running along the roadside towards the pond. I leaped from my car and managed to capture a few shots of the clan but this wee one stood out from the crowd because of the worm he picked up from the road and carried all the way over to his mum......which involved a mighty leap up the kerb in the background. Impressive skills when you're carrying a monster worm!

So the image quality is poor, the clarity and sharpness is crap but the 'cute' is sky high! Now I know there are defintely ducklings around I'll be back.......

Hasta la vista, ducky!